INS and diabetes mellitus: Nigella sativa (NS) seeds, an annual Ranunculaceae herbaceous plant, have been used in folk medicine to treat diabetes.[8] The glucose lowering and antidiabetic effects of NS has been reported in different diabetic animal models.[9, 10] Benhaddou-Andaloussi et al. [11] have demonstrated that NS ethanol extract exhibits a remarkable ability in vitro to concomitantly increase insulin secretion, induce proliferation of pancreatic β-cells, and stimulate glucose uptake in skeletal muscle and fat cells.